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Links

Here are a pile of links to sites we have enjoyed, listed in some loose categories. If we've missed a site you think should be listed here please contact us and we'll review the site and add it to the appropriate category.

Smallholding

• A Country Life
  For Smallholders, Homesteaders and Downshifters.
• Country Smallholding Magazine
  The UK's practical magazine for smallholders. We subscribe and can highly recommend it, especially for those keeping poultry.
• GJW Titmuss
  The best place to buy animal feed and pet supplies online. Great prices - best if you can buy a ton at a time though!
• North Yorkshire Smallholders Society
  Aims are to bring together people of similar interests, to share information and advice, help each other to save money by reducing costs and to make friends.
• River Cottage
  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's website about food, where it comes from, and why that matters.
• Smallholder Chat
  For the benefit of those who are hoping to, or have downsized
• Smallholders On-line
  A resource for everyone interested in sustainable food production and its relationship with the countryside environment.
• Smallholding Tips
  Your daily helping of smallholding tips,news,views and general ramblings.
• Tree Frog Farm
  Back in April 2004, Dan & Tracey made the decision to up sticks and move to Mid-West France. For 4 years, "Les Rainettes" - French for Tree Frog - has been their home and now in 2008, as they are in our 5th year there, hoping to build on their previous experiences and become totally self reliant for their fruit, vegetables and meat. With this website, Dan & Tracey invite you to share the highs and lows of their "Good Life".

Vegetable growing

• Allotment and Kitchen Gardens
  Information about allotments in the UK.
• Kitchen Gardeners International
  A non-profit network of kitchen gardeners and home cooks from 45 countries who are working to build a more healthful, sustainable, secure, and better tasting food system.
• National Vegetable Society
  The society can help you with tips and hints on growing better produce and showing it to its best advantage. Their site is a bit thin, but we'll keep checking to see if it develops.
• PottingBlocks.com
  Your complete source for soil block gardening information and supplies. Whether you are home gardener or a market farmer, we have what you need, when you need it. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced blocker, we are sure you'll find this site useful for your farm and garden.
• Vegetable Expert
  VegetableExpert.co.uk was formed in late 2005 to offer a unique reference point on growing and eating vegetables. This extensive site will help you learn more about vegetable varieties and how to plant, harvest, store, preserve and cook them.
• You Grow Girl
  Gardening for the people. A great site covering more than just vegetables, well worth a visit.

Blogs

• Tales from the Rock
  A very entertaining blog from the Rock. Where it is is something of a mystery, but they've got lots of animals and mud. Nice videos.

Pigs

• Pig Paradise Farm
  The Home of all the Rare Pig Breeds. We went on a one day pig-keeping course here and it was fantastic. Highly recommended.
• Pigs At Les Rues
  Breeding Tamworths, Saddlebacks, crosses of both and Vietnamese Potbellies and Mangalitza Swallow Bellies in France. Breeding stock and organic pork for sale.
• Straight from the Farm Free Range Pork
  The best produce that Fife has to offer. All of the pigs are our very own and are raised outdoors without the use of any artificial growth additives or any other chemicals being routinely administered in any way.

Organisations

• Ceredigion Smallholder Network
  A network to help smallholders in the Ceredigion area to share resources.
• Forth Valley and West Fife Smallholders' Association
  Association serving the needs and interests of existing and aspiring smallholders, whether smallholding is pursued as a lifestyle or as a business.
• Green Essentials
  The one-stop shop for effective, green, healthy stuff. Useful hints, environmental news, educational resources.
• GuideMeGreen
  This great site defies our link categorisation, so I've stuck it here. Well worth a visit if you're interested in green and environmental issues, the site features a load of articles, an ethical companies directory and a green directory.
• Lincolnshire Smallholding & Self-Sufficiency Club
  The purpose of Lincolnshire Smallholding & Self-Sufficiency Club is to bring together likeminded people, within Lincolnshire, who are interested or involved in any aspect of smallholding or self-sufficiency.
• Rare Breeds Survival Trust
  Conserving Britain's Native Livestock Heritage.
• The Wholesome Food Association
  A network of growers, processors, suppliers and distributors of authentic, locally-grown, wholesome food. We are a campaigning organisation, promoting smaller-scale, sustainable food production. We provide a low-cost labelling scheme for marketing wholesome, locally grown food, without the expense and complications of 'organic' certification.

Poultry & Fowl

• Backyard Chickens
  Helps others find the information they need to raise, keep and appreciate chickens. A nice site with an excellent set of FAQs
• Battery Hen Welfare Trust
  This site is designed to make people more aware of the plight of the battery hen and looks at various aspects surrounding the battery hen industry.
• Guinea Fowl UK
  A new website devoted to Guinea Fowl with lots of information about breeding and keeping.
• Hen Keepers Association (UK)
  Informing and supporting those who keep poultry for pleasure about health, welfare and management issues, and campaigning on their behalf, for the vaccination of small garden flocks to protect against avian flu.
• Humboldt Hens
  Amy & Scott's backyard chicken adventure.
• Island Poultry
  Island Poultry is a small breeder located in the Western Isles of Scotland specialising in the production of pure breed chickens, ducks and eggs for hatching by mail order.
• Poultry Pages
  Help, advice and information on keeping, housing feeding poultry, especially backyard chicken keeping and laying hens
• The Coop
  The Coop is dedicated to all the folks around the world that raise, breed or show poultry, waterfowl, gamebirds and related species.
• The Kitchen Garden
  A specialist shop for hen-keepers and gardeners. Francine Raymond, author of poultry best seller 'Keeping a Few Hens in Your Garden', offers a mail order service for Kitchen Garden products.
• The Poultry Club of Great Britain
  Claims to be the biggest poultry club in the world. (We’re not members though, and neither are our hens).

Food & Agriculture

• Forth Valley Food Links
  A local food initiative linking food producers and communities throughout Forth Valley.
• Nethergate Larder
  At Nethergate Farm in Dunlop Ayrshire we keep free- range, rare breed pigs and sheep. We produce a range of speciality food which help us to convert the naturally reared animals into high value worthwhile food products for the food chain. After a good life on the farm it is our belief that we should strive to make the best possible products from our animals.
• The Meatrix
  Moopheus opens Leos eyes to the reality of farming in the 21st century. A great way of raising the issues around factory farming, and a very good informational site underneath.

Animal Welfare

• Compassion in World Farming
  Campaigning to end the factory farming of animals and long distance transport through hard-hitting political lobbying, investigations and high profile campaigns
• Factory Farming
  A public interest website intended to educate consumers about the deleterious consequences of intensive animal agriculture.
• Humane Farming Association
  America's largest and most effective organization dedicated to the protection of farm animals.

Clackmannanshire

• Clackmannanshire Cat Protection League
  We got Homer from here, and would recommend anyone looking for a cat to consider rescuing one.
• ClacksWeb
  Clackmannanshire Council online
• Lookabootye
  A community website for Clackmannanshire.
• Maid of the Forth
  The Maid of the Forth is a modern steel passenger vessel built in Bristol in 1989. One of the boat company's cruises up the Forth passes right by our house - tell us if you're going and we'll be sure to wave!

Books

• Broad Leys Publishing - Poultry and Smallholding Books
  Specialists in books for smallholders, homesteaders, poultry keepers and organic gardeners
• Farming books and videos
  Offers a wide range of publications for the farmer, smallholder and country dweller.
• Farming Records
  UK’s largest specialist publisher of Agricultural and Accounting Record Books.

Equestrian

• Equine Ramblers UK
  Many people find it difficult to find a friend to go riding with. Quite often this is because of their commitments elsewhere. We aim to link horse riders who have a passion for long distance non-competitive riding, linking like-minded riders in order to find a companion to ride with.
• Highland Pony Society
  A not-for-profit Charity associated to the National Pony Society, which enables all the native breeds of the UK to speak with one voice. The Society, by its constitution, looks after both the Highland pony and the member.

Sheep

• Ryeland Flock Book Society
  The official website of the Ryeland Flock Book Society Ltd. The RFBS is a sheep society established in 1903 for the promotion and registration of pedigree Ryeland Sheep. The Ryeland Flock Book Society has Regional Groups across the UK and the Coloured Ryeland Group which was set up in 1996 to promote Coloured Ryelands.

Pets

• Safe Paws
  Safe Paws offer the very best in dog home boarding, dog walking, pet sitting and cat feeding/sitting services in Scotland.

Miscellaneous

• Champion IS web development
  Web development, producers of The Accidental Smallholder
• Paterson Garden Buildings
  Just across the water from us, and one of the largest manufacturers of bespoke timber buildings in Scotland. Top quality sheds, field shelters, greenhouses and any other type of building.
• The Green Providers Directory
  The Green Providers Directory is the UK's leading resource for finding green, organic and fair trade products and services. We are a not-for-profit directory whose aim is to encourage more people to buy from ethical and sustainable sources.

Cattle

• Alvecote Dexters
  Lots of information about Dexters.